Notes / Commercial Description:
Welcome to the biggest beer Squatters Pub Brewery has ever made! A Russian Imperial Stout is one of the most intensely flavored beers a brewer can create. The combination of rich roasted barley, oak, molasses and licorice root combine to create an utterly unique and complex imperial stout experience.

We had to mash in twice to get our starting gravity of 27 plato (1.108 specific gravity). We boiled 3.5 hrs to enhance caramelization and used molasses and licorice root at the end of boil. Outer Darkness is aged with oak, has 65 IBUs and bottle conditioned. We hope you have as much fun drinking it as we did making it. Please share with another and drink wisely.

This beer pours an opaque black color with a solid light tan head. Lacing is strong, and lingers until the beer is gone. The aroma is of roasted malt, cream, vanilla, and cocoa powder. The taste is dominated by a bitterness that distracts from the nice malt characteristics found in the aroma. There are some roasty notes to be found they are just covered in brash hops. The mouthfeel is on the lighter side for an imperial stout with a smooth texture, and appropriately moderate carbonation. Overall, this is a decent stout that I wouldn't turn down in a pinch, but wouldn't go out of my way for either.

Poured from a 750ml brown bottle into a clear glass tulip. Enjoy by 09/04/14 near bottom of the bottom. A great gift from my awesome sister Tami.

A: Black with 1-finger of beige head with good retention and a craggy collection of lacing.

S: The aroma is mosly medium caramel malts and roast with a little bit of fig dark fruitiness.

T: THe flavor is bold, but a bit too strong on roast to the point of being a little ashy. There are some fig and raisin dark fruit flavors that unfortunately fight against the stiff bitterness and herbal, woody hopping. It is not overly boozy but does have some alcohol presence.

M: A bit sticky with full body and light carbonation.

O: A big and bad imperial stout with some booze and a lot of char -- if you love roasty stouts, then this is a beer you have got to find.

A. Aggressive poor. A beautiful reverse waterfall of bubbles. 2inch of brown head that retains its shape. No carbonation. Color is black
S. Roasted malt, Smokey, chocolate, coffee, nutty, creamy.
T. Same as it smells. Also taste charcoal and the alcohol is very evident and astringent.
M. Creamy, syrup, heat for the alcohol
O. The first sip is good with all the flavor of an RIS. But the rest of the bottle is rough to get down due to the taste of alcohol. The alcohol taste the way Isopropyl alcohol smells. It is very over powering it gives me a slight headache. On the other hand it delivers one hell of a buzz for 10.5%. If you’re an RIS lover like me than I recommend you skip this on your quest to the perfect RIS.

A- 750ml poured to a wide goblet with a deep black, thick body. A light mocha head fills the glass to one finger and falls to a frothy island and thin ring. Decent head retention and moderate spotty lace.

Poured from a 22 ounce bottle into an Imperial pint glass. My basement fridge set at 45 degrees. Center pour produces massive head so that I can only fill glass half way before head threatens to spill out on counter.

Smells very nice. Dark fruits and chocolate. A little more hops on the nose than I would expect from a stout.

Taste is good, gets better as it warms. Probably should have waited longer before sampling. The hops on the nose are not as prominent on the palate. A little soy sauce comes along for the ride with the chocolate and fruit. Nice.

This has a great thickness to it. This is how a stout should feel.

Overall, did I mention I didn't taste the high alcohol content, it did catch up with me. I would have shared ( the wife prefers lagers). I'll buy this again.

Hand me a beer and I will drink it, but God save me, I do not like stouts. I will drink Belgian Quadrupels, Double or Imperial IPAs, but I do not like stouts. If you are like me and turn your nose up at even a Guinness, do not drink this.

It looks like liquid evil.
It smells like liquid evil.
It tastes like liquid evil.
It feels like liquid evil. Or motor oil.
Two years later and I still have not recovered.

In reality though, it is dark. Hold it up to a light, and it will not show even a shred of a glow. Strong coffee and dark malts are prevalent, both in taste and smell. It feels much like something I should have chewed.

This is a tough brew to get through. I had it on tap in a goblet-style glass, and in small amounts, it is delicious. The flavors all come through to form some kind of potion that nearly convinced me that stouts are the only way to world peace. Then I made the mistake of buying a bomber. I was not ready. I will never be ready. It is powerful, it is pungent, and if you are not prepared, it will destroy you.

Magnificen imperial stout! Very rich. Complex flavor which includes what one expects in a fine stout including a licourice element. Pours opaque dark with a nice tan head. Very toasty and complex. Mild bitterness, mildly sweet and chocolatey. Perfect hop in the finish. Very impressive!

Pours an opaque black with a foamy dark khaki head that settles to wisps of film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of dark roasted malt, cocoa, and dark fruit aromas. Taste is much the same with cocoa and char flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of roast and hop bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer with nice cocoa and char qualities all around.

Starts out strongly tasting of chocolate and it is a little sweet. Mildly bittersweet taste. Coconut and caramel it tastes vaguely like a Mounds candy bar. Can't taste alcohol but it is sensed as a slight sting. Tasty yet mild tasting could pass for a Milk Stout.

APPEARANCE: A black pour is relatively thick and yields a two finger, medium looking, fluffy and creamy, dark tan head with excellent retention. Jet black body with very high levels of carbonation visible for the style. Head fades to a good foam cap and clings to the sides of the glass. A splotchy wisp remains until the end and leaves some decent lacing on the glass. A bit too much carbonation for the style, but really nice otherwise.

TASTE: Roasted malts, dark chocolate and some alcohol up front. Big and lingering finish of dark, bitter baker's chocolate and fudge, light vanilla cream, sweet dark fruit and a touch of alcohol on the palate. Some caramel sweetness lingers on the palate as well.

PALATE: Medium body and medium levels of carbonation. Slightly light on the palate, semi-creamy, goes down fine and finishes sticky. Some heat lingers.

OVERALL: Really nice and would gladly drink again. Lots of good flavors and aromas with a nice look and decent-enough feel. A touch light perhaps, but that's a minor issue. Good beer. Cheers again Doodler!

Squatters Outer Darkness pours a black color with a small tan head. There is a sweet and full black licorice. The taste is sweet with lots of black licorice flavors, and a strange "spice" note that is enjoyable. Good full flavors good body. Overall a very nice flavorful and sweeter stout.

1 pint 9 fl oz brown glass bottle (Born: 09/03/13) with interesting label art and gold foiled-over branded pry-off pressure cap acquired at Whole Foods HQ and served into an Avery stem-tulip in me gaff in low altitude Austin, Texas. Reviewed live. Expectations are high given its current 90 rating. 10.5% ABV confirmed. Reviewed as a Russian Imperial Stout because it's identified clearly as such on the front of the label. "Reserve series." "65 IBU's [sic]."

Paired with Swiss chocolate.

Served cold - straight from me fridge - and allowed to come to room temperature over the course of consumption. Side-poured with standard vigor as no carbonation issues are anticipated.

A: No bubble show forms as it's poured.

Pours a 1.5 finger wide head of nice khaki-tan colour. Nice fluffy creaminess. Pretty good thickness. Nice consistency. Not as luscious or milky as would be an ideal for an Imperial Stout, but attractive, certainly. Inconsistent lacing sticks to the sides of the glass as the head recedes. Head retention is pretty good for the high ABV - about 3-4 minutes.

Body colour is a solid opaque black. No yeast particles are visible.

Overall, it's pretty standard fare for an imperial stout. Certainly above average, but not mind-blowing. While not unique or special, it's definitely appealing and I'm looking forward to trying it. There are no egregious flaws.

Sm: Too milky and airy. It lacks substance and depth; this is a very empty aroma. Unevocative milk chocolate, timid dark malts, some coffee/dark chocolate bitterness. Roasted barley notes are sorely lacking. As it warms, a bit more malty sweetness emerges, but it's still lackluster. Faint vanilla. Shallow oak. Faint sweet fruits - cherry, perhaps? If so, it's one of the most mediocre cherry notes I've ever encountered in an imperial stout. With further warmth, I pick up some appealing cocoa dust.

No yeast character, hop character, or overt alcohol is detectable. I'm a bit underwhelmed so far, but I'm optimistic. Aroma is of below average strength. I can't believe how timid it is. It does seem soft, to its credit.

T: Dark malts, chocolate malts, a bit of molasses. Dark chocolate and accompanying bitterness emerges about the climax, joined by faint unevocative coffee notes. There's little of interest in the coffee notes - no roast, espresso, creaminess, or anything intriguing. There's not even the depth of say cold-pressed Folgers; all I get is a weak earthiness and bitterness that isn't flattering. A bit of artificial vanillicin comes through on the finish. There's really no evocative oak wood here at all. A bit of cocoa dust. Hints of tar. Some luckily faded anise (I despise licorice/anise). A bit burnt. Where's the roasted barley? The lack of roast is really hurting the flavour profile. Bitterness/sweetness is messy and imbalanced. Slightly burnt.

Below average depth, duration, and intensity of flavour. It's pretty underwhelming in that the complexity and subtlety is quite limited for the style. Balance is decent and it has some fair cohesion, but it's by no means a gestalt build.

No yeast character or hop character comes through. There is a bit of alcohol presence, but it doesn't detract that much.

I'm pretty disappointed, to be honest. This is a rather boring build for an imperial stout overall. I like it in a general sense, and there are no off flavours or anything, but there's just nothing remarkable about it.

Mf: A bit sticky and chewy. Smooth and wet. Nice body and thickness. Decent presence on the palate. It could really use more of a soft creamy feel. Not luscious. Overcarbonated. Suits the flavour profile decently, but doesn't come off custom-tailored to it.

Not oily, astringent, hot, boozy, gushed, rough, or harsh.

Dr: Drinkable enough for its pretty well hidden 10.5% ABV. I'm a bit dumbfounded by its current 90 rating; are Utah residents artificially inflating this rating or something? I mean, maybe this is incredible stuff if you only drink Utah beers. Snark aside, it's a run-of-the-mill Russian Imperial Stout with little to offer the discerning drinker. A forgettable beer I wouldn't bother with again. I wouldn't recommend it to friends or trade partners. Worth trying once, but ultimately quite mundane.

The vanillicin and cocoa dust were the highlights for me, but the lack of roast and generally lazy balance really hold it back.

Dark and inky body that pours hard out of the bottle. Just a slight, brown sugar cap on this one. It certainly looks the part.

That nose is intense! There is plenty of roasted malt, dark chocolate for sure, a bit of brown sugar, and a good bit of boozy character.

The palate follows the nose fairly closely. Again the dark chocolate and roasted malt hits hard. There are even dark fruit flavors at play mid-palate. Unfortunately, there is also a rather large wave of booziness that takes over far too soon, and some bittering that is a bit out of place with how intense the smokey, roasted malt already is.

The feel is great for this one: hefty medium body and fairly creamy. It finishes really dry as well.

Outer Darkness is a little too intense for my palate. If the boozy and smokey characteristics backed down a little and let the dark chocolate and dark fruit flavors last a little longer mid-palate, I would be happier. As it is, this Russian Imperial Stout is good, looking up at great.

2009 bottle release; Sampled January 2012
A healthy pour into my Lost Abbey Teku glass produces a dense, long lasting, initially three-finger thick, darkly browned head that leaves a nice lacing on the sides of my glass. The beer smells of lightly acrid, amply roasted malt with notes of thick black coffee, a touch of toasted woodiness and burnt whole grain toast. This is backed by a subtle, yet distinct fruitiness that has a oaky vinous quality as well as a hint of burnt prunes. The roast character here is quite ample and provides an almost smokiness, which is boosted by he concentrated malt character that almost has an umami like savoriness to it. As the beer warms up a burnt fruitiness starts to become noticeable; it smells more of burnt raisins than anything.

The beer has a nice, soft, slightly prickly up front, carbonation, but this is quickly overwhelmed by the thick, ample body. Despite the thickness, the beer really doesn’t taste very sweet at all; rich and savory with a deeply roasted, complex sweetness, the beer reminds me of dark chocolate, a roasted peat like smokiness (that almost seems a touch salty at times), a dark concentrated espresso character. As the beer warms up, and perhaps my palate adjusts a bit, I start to notice a touch more sweetness; this accentuates a dark cocoa flavor, notes of burnt molasses and even a licorice like note in the finish. There is a hint of a woody flavor and edge to the finish. The wood flavors seem to add a touch of tartness to this somehow (though the ample burnt character also adds a touch of acidity here), and there is a sort of buttery note that almost has me thinking there is something funky going on here; in the end this is subtle enough that it could just be a soft, but clean, oak influence, but I can’t actually quite tell. The roast character provides a solid bitterness to this beer, in the finish this mixes with a bitter hop bite.

This is quite taste, certainly better than I was expecting; for some reason I thought this had been Bourbon barrel aged and not just oak aged, but I am quite happy to be wrong. I really like how restrained the oak character is; it is very subtle and really plays a supporting role; in fact, if I didn’t know it was here, I would be hard pressed to identify it as it really just boosts the complexity of this beer without being overtly noticeable. I really like how savory the concentrated malt character is in this beer; I am quite sure this beer will age quite gracefully.

Poured two fingers of brown head on a pitch black body.
The aroma is black licorice, burnt wood, roasted malt and dark chocolate. Smells amazing.
The taste is almost equal to the aroma. Smooth throughout; roasted malt, touch of burnt, moderate bitterness to round it out. Excellent.
The texture is smooth with moderate carbonation.
Nailed it.

Got in a trade with swingracex. 25 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled on 3/27/2012. Pours dense pitch black color with a 1 finger dense dark tan head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Nice soapy lacing clings around the glass. Aromas of big dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, char, roasted malt, raisin, molasses, caramel, licorice, toast, floral, clove, oak, and roasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with good balance and complexity of roasted and dark malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, roasted malt, char, toast, molasses, caramel, raisin, licorice, floral, oak, clove, and roasted earthiness. Good amount of roasted coffee bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, roasted malt, char, raisin, molasses, toast, caramel, oak, and roasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Fantastic complexity and balance of deep roast with dark malt flavors and a fair amount of oak presence; with huge robustness and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Medium carbonation and very full bodied; with a very creamy, slick, and lightly chalky mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is extremely well hidden with hardly any warming noticed after the finish. Overall this is a fantastic Russian imperial stout! Huge complexity of roasted and dark malt flavors with moderate oak presence; and very smooth to sip on for the ABV. A highly enjoyable offering.